Bob Bratina

[Committees of the House, February 5th, 2021]

Madam Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fifth report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in relation to Bill C-8, , an act to amend the Citizenship Act (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada's call to action number 94).

The committee has studied the bill and has decided to report the bill back to the House without amendments.

[The Economy, February 2nd, 2021]

Mr. Speaker, despite the pandemic, many of the business sectors in Hamilton are performing well, contributing to wages and tax revenues, including the steel industry, which I am proud to help represent.

With the current round of pre-budget consultations now under way, can the Associate Minister of Finance tell us how the government plans to ensure vibrancy and sustainability for steel and steel-related industries as we navigate the complex issues of a post-pandemic economy?

[Criminal Code, December 8th, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I appreciate this debate. In light of what was just said, I point out the member across the way depicted the Attorney General as having ignored the pleas of the disability community. Does he honestly think that the Attorney General is ignoring the pleas of the disability community?

All of us on this side, and hopefully all on the opposite side, have the best interest of Canadians at heart. This is a difficult and complex issue. We understand that, and it is good we are having this debate.

Does the member actually think the Attorney General has ignored the pleas of the disability community?

[Business of Supply, December 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I am a little puzzled, because the sense I got from the member's presentation was that Canada is suffering badly. Everyone is suffering from COVID, but in terms of per capita mortality and many measures, we are way down the list of countries, so we must be doing something right, as much as it is difficult to handle all of the complex issues that we are struggling with right now.

What would my friend have to say about the fact that, compared to most other countries, Canada seems to be doing very well?

[CP Holiday Train, December 3rd, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, for over 20 years, communities across Canada and the United States have welcomed the CP Holiday Train. It is 1,000 feet long, with every car and locomotive brightly decorated with seasonal symbols.

The train has travelled across our two countries, bringing the holiday spirit and supporting local food banks. At every stop, people enjoy the train and its live music show on a specially designed rail car stage. They bring food and cash donations and the railway presents a large cheque to the local food bank, over the years, raising almost $18 million and 4.8 million pounds of food.

The president and CEO, Keith Creel, promises that the tradition will continue virtually this year, with a holiday train concert online on December 12, and CP will donate $1.24 million to the 201 food banks along the route. When it is safe to do so, the train will get rolling again.

Hamilton has proudly welcomed the train with huge crowds and so many needy families have had a better Christmas. We thank CP Rail.

[Committees of the House, November 30th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the fourth report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs entitled “Supplementary Estimates (B) 2020-21.”

[Criminal Code, November 30th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I appreciate the very personal comments of my friend across the way. Statistically, with roughly 7,000 Canadians having chosen assisted dying, I am wondering whether the member is completely against the notion.

Does he see some value in continuing to try to perfect the legislation?

[Committees of the House, November 16th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, I have the honour to present, in both official languages, the first report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs, entitled “Main Estimates 2020-21”.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the second report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, regarding investment in broadband in northern Canada.

I also have the honour to present, in both official languages, the third report of the Standing Committee on Indigenous and Northern Affairs in relation to the motion adopted on Tuesday, October 27, 2020, regarding condolences to the family of Joyce Echaquan.

[Safe and Regulated Sports Betting Act, November 3rd, 2020]

Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak to Bill C-218 put forward by my friend, the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood, entitled an act to amend the Criminal Code (sports betting).

My interest in this topic is not related to personal habits. I lost interest in sports gambling when, as kids, we collected hockey cards and played a game in which we flipped them to the ground against an opponent. Someone would flip their card and watch it land, heads or tails, and then someone else would flip their card. If the second person matched the first, heads or tails, they would win the card. That is how I lost my 1954 Topps Gordie Howe card, which, if I still had it today, would be worth $13,000.

My best bets over the years could have been profitable, had I backed them up with money. That would include Muhammad Ali knocking out George Foreman, the Tiger-Cats beating the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1986 Grey Cup, and the Czechs beating the Soviet Union in the 1968 world hockey championships.

If I am not a sports gambler, why am I addressing the matter of sports betting? It became obvious to me at an early age that people liked to bet on sports. Growing up in Hamilton exposed me to lots of it. Right near my grandparents' house in the east end was the race track known as the Hamilton Jockey Club. Although it had an illustrious racing history, Queen's Plates and all, its location near the steel mills in the days when workers were paid in cash meant that some dads came home after payday with no money.

Another feature of the east end was the floating crap game, once played on the street in storefronts, which were able to move away quickly if the police showed up. The last big one took place on July 2, 1959 at the corner of Beach Road and Albemarle, complete with drinks being served by a relative of mine who had been involved in the illicit alcohol trade. The reason the date is important is it was during a royal visit. Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth was here, and that tied up almost the entire police force for the entire day.

Another relative was a well-known retired athlete and tavern owner. Fifty years ago people could place a bet on almost any sporting event in the tavern with Roy, the in-house bookie, who even had his own private telephone line.

Then of course there were the Irish Sweepstakes, well-known around the world, with winners becoming known to their communities and yet it was a total secret, supposedly, as to how one actually purchased an Irish Sweepstake ticket. One local winner won enough to retire as a waiter and purchase a farm.

My favourite story about the prevalence of gambling in our community came from the late and much beloved Sister Maria Cordis. Sister Maria was a well-known music teacher in the city who regaled us with stories. As a young novitiate, she was walking downtown and saw a man sitting in the park grass, slumped over. She took out a $5 bill and slipped it into his hand and said, “For His grace.” The next week she walked past that same man who waved her over and handed her $100. “What is this?” she asked. The man replied, “His Grace paid 20 to 1 at Woodbine.”

Sports gambling has been going on forever. The historians say the Greeks and the Romans bet on chariot races. It seems to be a natural human instinct to make a wager on almost anything, but especially sports competitions. Gambling as a whole involves staggering amounts of money.

In Hamilton, we were considering a downtown casino. We learned that the amount of money gambled by Hamiltonians at various Ontario Lottery and Gaming sites in one year was $40 million. As much as we, as a government, have had concerns about the obvious negative impacts and consequences of gambling, we have to acknowledge the reality that it does take place.

Not so long ago, the idea of single-event sports betting was opposed by major sports leagues and notably the Canadian Football League, here in Canada of course. The attitude among the North American pro sports leagues has changed over the past few years, to the point that serious consideration should now be given to the request from the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood.

However, I will say again that sports betting is an old story and an apocryphal one. It is related to the Grey Cup and goes back to 1954. That year, the Montreal Alouettes had assembled one of the greatest teams ever, with Sam Etcheverry, Hal Patterson, Red O'Quinn, Alex Webster and so many others. They were the huge favourites to win that game. The famous Chuck Hunsinger fumble led to a last-minute touchdown and an Edmonton victory. One bettor won so much money that he flew the entire Edmonton Eskimos team that day from Toronto to Montreal to celebrate, because in 1954 Toronto was fast asleep by sundown and was no place for a victory party. That is how much money he won. That story was confirmed for me by none other than Normie Kwong.

What confronts us now is, as always, to ensure that we carefully regulate gambling in a responsible manner with appropriate supports for individuals who may suffer from addictive behaviour and for the accompanying toll on personal and family lives.

The profits made through illegal gambling by organized crime do not find their way to supportive services. The Criminal Code currently prohibits all forms of gaming and betting, unless a particular form of gambling is specifically permitted. The provinces and territories are permitted to conduct or license a broad range of lottery schemes, including betting on the outcome of more than one sporting event, such as all of the NFL games in a weekend. However, there are exclusions, such as betting on a single event such as the Grey Cup game. The proposal before us would remove that exclusion.

We also need to take into account the competitiveness of our industries, whether it is making steel, mining potash or gambling, because our neighbours in the United States have legalized single-event sports betting. This puts their operators in a better position to offer a broader range of products and enables them to siphon off some of the money that should be coming to Canadian operators. This, of course, includes indigenous peoples and communities, for whom these proceeds can be critical, as we have seen during the pandemic lockdowns this year.

Among many things to be considered is the effect on the horse racing industry. The provinces and territories could be allowed wagering on single horse races, which could affect racetrack revenues. Repealing paragraph 207(4)(b), as contemplated by this bill, would permit the establishment of pari-mutuel betting, which could further impact the racing industry.

I want to congratulate the member for Saskatoon—Grasswood for taking the initiative to allow Parliament to explore a further enhancement to the gambling industry, and all of the jobs and activities it supports, through his thoughtful recommendations regarding changes to the Criminal Code. He has ideal credentials for sitting in this place because he did play-by-play sports. To me that is an outstanding credential, since I did that as well.

Those of us who are close to the sports and games understand in a very broad way that people are going to find a way to place a wager in a sporting event. It is up to us as the regulators to see if we can create what is proposed in this bill: a safe, legal and careful way of ensuring that supports are in place for those with problems, but that there are no negative impacts on the sports involved, especially in the horse racing industry.

[Post-Secondary Education, October 26th, 2020]

Mr. Speaker, we know that access to high-quality education for young people is critical to the success of not only individuals but local economies and Canada as a whole. However, we know that access to post-secondary education is not equal across the country. In the north, entrants to post-secondary now have an option to pursue their studies north of 60 with the creation of Yukon University, but more needs to be done for access to education across the north.

Could the Minister of Northern Affairs update the House on our government's work on this important file?